Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, a married couple who worked as computer
operations team members at Stanford University, later joined by
Richard Troiano, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. Lerner moved on
to command network ppt at Schlumberger, stirring occupied in days of yore to
Cisco in 1987. The big name "Cisco" was derived from the see luminary,
San Francisco, which is why the assemblage's engineers insisted on
using the cut case "cisco" in the antiquated days. As a service to Cisco's first
offshoot, Bosack adapted multiple-protocol router software from the beginning
written some years before nearby William Yeager, another Stanford hand
who later joined Brown Microsystems. The presence's beginning CEO was Tab
Graves, who held the stance from 1987 to 1988. In 1988, John Morgridge
was appointed CEO, and succeeded in 1995 by John Chambers.

While Cisco was not the beginning followers to bring out and convinced a router, it
was one of the oldest to peddle commercially successful routers supporting
multiple network protocols. As the Internet Protocol Manual became everywhere
adopted, the importance of multi-protocol routing declined. Today, Cisco's
largest routers are primarily cast-off to yield IP packets.

On February 16 1990, the group went following (with a stock exchange capitalization
of $224 million) and was listed on the Nasdaq reservoir exchange. On August 28, 1990,
Lerner was fired; upon hearing the news, Bosack resigned to conduct his reinforce for her.
Bosack and his partner walked away from Cisco with $170 million, 70% of which was
committed to charities. The two later divorced.

Cisco acquired a selection of companies to bring out in products and proclivity into the
company. In 1995-1996 the convention completed 11 acquisitions. Divers acquisitions,
such as Stratacom, were the biggest deals in the production when they occurred.
During the Internet boom in 1999, the friends acquired Cerent Corporation,
a start-up society located in Petaluma, California, representing fro US$7 billion.
It was the most expensive acquirement made at hand Cisco to date, and simply the
purchase of Orderly Atlanta has been larger. A number of acquired companies
include grown into $1Bn+ subject units after Cisco, including LAN switching,
Adventurousness Turn in excess of Internet Conduct (VOIP), and refuge networking. Cisco
acquired Linksys in 2003.

In fashionable March 2000, at the apogee of the dot-com bang, Cisco vendor was the most
valuable attendance in the world, with a superstore capitalization of more than
US$500 billion. In July 2009, with a vend cover humbly of hither US$108.03 billion,
it is restful united of the most valuable companies.

The comrades was a 2002-03 recipient of the Ron Brown Trophy, a U.S.
presidential honor to pay respect companies "in behalf of the outstanding worth
of their relationships with employees and communities".